News

A ban on outdoor medical marijuana advertising has been an issue in Denver for much of the spring, and now two competing ban proposals will have to come together before a city council vote in August.

Councilmember Debbie Ortega proposed a ban in May similar to one on tobacco ads, It would prevent ads from being 1,000 from schools, etc. But Medical Marijuana Industry Group director Michael Elliot says that sends a message that MMJ is something bad. The MMIG is actually pushing for a full, citywide ban.

"Such advertisements unite opposition to medical marijuana, undermine our support, and are largely responsible for the banning of MMJ businesses in Fort Collins and other jurisdictions," Elliott told Denver Westword. "As a community, we should decide whether these advertisements are doing more harm than good. Perhaps the best approach would be 'out of sight, out of mind.'"

Councilmember Christopher Herndon agrees, and will soon introduce a proposal for a full ban on outdoor ads. "I want to further legitimize the industry," he says. "And to do that, I think it's important for people to understand that this is for medical purposes -- and when you see the signage or the spinners, it gives the impression that it's more than medical."

But Councilman Charlie Brown opposes both bans, saying the only problem seems to be the “sign-twirlers” outside dispensaries, a problem that can be easily fixed.

Councilwoman Ortega will soon meet with Herndon to see if a compromise can be reached. "My hope is that we can sit down and walk through the ordinances and try and get to a place where we agree, or agree to disagree, on what a citywide ordinance would look like before [Herndon's proposal] is scheduled to go to committee on August 1," she said.

SAN DIEGO -- The U.S. Navy says an aircraft carrier group recovered about 19 tons of marijuana dumped from small boats in the Pacific Ocean near California's border with Mexico.

The Navy said Tuesday that two single-engine boats - each about 25 feet long - were spotted about 15 hours apart on Saturday. People aboard the boats began dumping plastic bags, and the boats escaped before authorities arrived.

Lt. Aaron Kakiel says no one was captured. The seizures occurred in international waters about 85 miles off the Mexican coast.

Authorities recovered about eight tons of marijuana from the first boat and 11 tons from the second. The carrier USS Nimitz and cruiser USS Princeton were assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican navy.

Many in the cannabis movement agree that President Obama’s stance on medical marijuana has been inexplicable, especially considering his pronouncements before he arrived at The White House.

Many also wonder what the President hopes to gain by alienating those who voted for him in 2008. Republican votes? Not likely, and Independents favor medical marijuana by huge margins.

There have been some rumblings lately that Obama’s recent “evolution” on the issue of gay marriage may pave the way for a similar “evolution” on medical marijuana, or maybe even recreational marijuana.

When Obama announced support of gay marriage, he also basically said that while he supports it, he’s not going to do anything to make it legal. Would he do the same when it came to marijuana right before the election? How many marijuana users would vote for him then?

Would he get enough votes to put him over the top in states like Colorado? Believing that marijuana users (and young people for that matter) generally have short attention spans, is Obama holding marijuana up his sleeve until just weeks before the election when it will have the most impact?

Much has been made recently – and for good reason – about the incredible amount of arrests that are made in New York City for simple marijuana possession. Beyond that, the vast majority of the arrests are of minority suspects.

While marijuana possession is only a “violation” in NYC, having marijuana in public view is a misdemeanor. And many cops have resorted to illegal searches to bring marijuana out into public view, where it becomes a crime.

And while politicians are rightly discussing a reduction in the penalty for marijuana possession in public view, should we not also be worried about these illegal searches? The two videos below bring this issue front and center.

Shouldn’t we be bothered by the image of a bunch of cops flooding into a random area and arresting minorities? Isn’t that in fact the height of tyranny, and evidence of how far we have fallen in this country?

Shouldn’t we be sickened that these things are commonplace? And marijuana is the tool by which this “public view” racism is carried out. Once marijuana is legalized, will it solve the problem of illegal searches? Or will another “substance” be substituted and utilized by law enforcement?

Mitt Romney’s disdain for marijuana in general is well-documented on Youtube, but it seems he takes time out of his busy schedule to do a little crime fighting as well.

According to reports Romney and his wife occasionally take walks along the beach near their home in La Jolla, California. But these aren’t ordinary walks , says The NY Times:

“A young man in town recalled that Mr. Romney confronted him as he smoked marijuana and drank on the beach last summer, demanding that he stop.

The issue appears to be a recurring nuisance for the Romneys. Mr. Quint, who lives on the waterfront near Mr. Romney, said that a police officer had asked him, on a weekend when the candidate was in town, to report any pot smoking on the beach. The officer explained to him that “your neighbors have complained,” Mr. Quint recalled. “He was pretty clear that it was the Romneys.”

It’s no surprise that Mitt Romney is arrogant and walks around with an incredible sense of self-worth, but he also seems completely oblivious to how much of the world works. What if this person who was smoking and drinking decided to tell Romney off? What if there was a physical altercation? Is Mitt Romney really willing to risk his life to scold a stranger who is not even on his property?

Imagine sitting on the beach, smoking a joint, and Mitt Romney comes up to you and lectures you on the ills of marijuana and drinking. This man is so controlling that he must control the behavior of not only those around him, but those anywhere near him.

If he becomes President he’ll have the opportunity to control the lives of millions of people, and make them conform to his narrow-view of the world. It’s shaping up to be a rather depressing Presidential election year.